DONOVAN COMMUNICATIONS LLC
NEW PORT RICHEY, FLORIDA

My Business I started my business in 2007 after helping friends and family members with their resumes and realizing that I not only was good at helping them, but enjoyed doing it. In 2008, I left my day job to be self-employed full time, and I never looked back! Since starting my business, I’ve gained substantial training in resume writing and career communications, and I’ve continued to improve the value I offer my clients. My business has evolved just as the job market has evolved–for example, LinkedIn was an afterthought when I started, and now it’s a key piece of each client’s strategy. Past board member, National Association of Women Business Owners – Inland Empire I’ve always enjoyed writing and helping people, so I built a business around these passions. My background prepared me well for the career communications and resume writing profession. After getting my start as an award-winning daily newspaper reporter, I went on to work at a small marketing and public relations firm, where I became a manager. My experience as a journalist helped me develop I’ve been quoted on career topics in articles by Forbes, the New York Post, Fast Company, the Detroit Free Press, Monster.com, the Cincinnati Enquirer, Yahoo! Finance, MSN Careers, and many others; see a list of my most recent media coverage and blog posts My work has been featured in popular career books available at Barnes & Noble, on Amazon, and through other booksellers: 1. What type of business are you? What services do you offer other than resumes? Small resume writing / career coaching firms 3. Do you provide assistance with LinkedIn strategy and LinkedIn profiles? LinkedIn.com is an important tool for most job seekers today, but to maximize your chances of success with it, you need effective strategies and a profile with advanced search optimization. Many resume writers are not yet up to speed on LinkedIn or don’t know these advanced strategies and techniques. Look for an expert who provides training and profile writing. 4. Is this a side business? In other words, do you have a day job, or do you run your business full time? Many low-priced resume writers have day jobs, and they just do resume writing to make some extra money. Chances are, their full-time jobs will take priority over their resume projects. Consequently, they might not be willing or able to devote the time necessary to produce a high-quality product that will get you results. A serious career industry professional will be an active member of industry groups. The three largest and most respected organizations in the industry are the National Resume Writers’ Association (NRWA), the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches (PARW/CC), and Career Directors International (CDI). Be wary of large firms that display an association’s logo; that doesn’t mean all of its writers are members. Watch out for writers who aren’t formally educated. Often, they tend to be typists or secretaries who lack writing ability, business knowledge, and hiring experience. Look for someone with a degree in communications, journalism, English, human resources, business, career development, or a related field. 7. Do you provide help with job search strategy and interview preparation? If you want to be successful in your job search, you need an effective job search strategy, networking skills, and interviewing skills. A serious resume writing firm will offer job search and interview coaching, supply training products, or provide referrals to reputable career coaches that partner with the firm. 8. How many years of business experience do you have? Do you have hiring experience? Good resume writing requires insight into the business world. Someone who has less than 5 years of business experience will probably lack the insight needed to produce a world-class resume. Look for someone with years of experience, particularly if it involved being a manager and hiring job applicants. Bearing in mind how long it takes to do the work well, estimate an hourly rate. Does it reflect the fees that an accomplished, serious professional would charge–or fees that reflect desperation, a disregard for quality, or a fly-by-night operation? Keep in mind that the hourly rate a business needs to make is about 3-5 times the hourly rate that an employee with those skills would be making at a job. Many of the bigger Internet-based resume services outsource resume writing to workers in India. Also, some low-priced firms are set up like factories; one person will interview you, but someone else will write the resume. When hiring these firms, you have no way of knowing in advance who your writer will be or what his or her credentials are. Many low-cost resume firms are “cookie cutter,” relying on software with pre-written resume templates for different professions. For example, if you’re an accountant, the company will simply pull up an accountant resume template and use the same wording for your resume. Bad idea! You won’t stand out among your competitors. When dealing with a large resume mill, you can’t call or email your writer two months later with a question about your job search. Likewise, a provider who’s only been in business for a few years might be gone when you need help again in a couple years. Do you want to have someone who can be a partner in your career for years to come as you change jobs and seek promotions? Look for a writer who has verifiable testimonials. A testimonial on a company website is not verifiable, because you have no way of knowing whether the company fabricated it. Likewise, be suspicious of reviews on random websites (YellowPages.com, for example) that don’t have a rigorous algorithm for filtering potentially fake reviews. A good place to review a writer’s testimonials are on his or her LinkedIn profile. That way, you can see who actually wrote each testimonial, and can even click onto the person’s profile to verify that it’s a real person (one of the strongest pieces of evidence that a profile is real is if the person has received LinkedIn recommendations). This will also provide insight into the type of professionals that have benefited from working with the writer.